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A BUSY MONTH IN ESPN’S WORLD

The rapid evolution of sports and sports media is on full display in Bristol, Connecticut, as ESPN mapped out its future to remain the self-proclaimed worldwide leader in sports. ESPN hosted a Media Day event at its Bristol HQ that featured company executives and on-air talent showcasing just how the company is adapting to the changing habits among viewers and fans. Central to that societal shift in media consumption is the declining presence of cable TV and rising use of digital products and streaming services. So, how will a company that’s grown exponentially within the cable world respond? By going direct-to-consumer by next fall.

“It will be all of our linear networks, including our college networks, and also include ESPN+. So everything that you’re getting today by paying $12 a month will be included in [the DTC product],” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said at the event. “We’re pretty excited about it, but at the same time, we know that this can’t be as simple as just flipping the switch … Our product needs to be enhanced, and so it’s an understatement to say that we have all hands on deck right now from a product and development perspective, front-end tech, back-end tech, design, interface, all of that. But in terms of product enhancements, you’re going to see massive improvements.”

ESPN will maintain its presence on linear platforms, but the yet-to-be-named DTC offering will allow fans to purchase networks on an a la carte basis. The company wants to stretch into as many different aspects of the viewership experience as possible as seen with other ventures like ESPN Bet and its large presence on various social media platforms. In July, ESPN Digital reached 102.3 million unique users during the month, which is over 33 million more than the second-ranked Yahoo Sports-NBC Sports Network, according to Comscore data.

“What we’re seeing from our research is that folks—especially younger people—are spending more and more time with our brands, with our content, on these platforms. And then they’re much more likely to go ahead and spend more time on our owned and operated, which is really the strategy,” Pitaro said.

As for the network’s content, there are two sides to the equation for ESPN. There’s the live game aspect that’s spearheaded by EVP, Programming & Acquisitions Rosalyn Durant, and the studio shows that President of Content Burke Magnus helps oversee. This year, ESPN renewed deals with the NCAA and the NBA while adding newcomers like the SEC, and its studio shows continue to grow in popularity with “First Take,” “Get Up” and “The Pat McAfee Show.”

Artificial intelligence is another pillar in ESPN’s plan. Right now, ESPN uses it to clip and generate highlights at scale across all of its properties, from the NFL to Ivy League lacrosse, but Pitaro’s vision encapsulates using AI to create personalized editions of “SportsCenter.”

“AI is not the awful, terrible disruptor that many people think it will be. I personally believe that AI will be very helpful and beneficial to the sports industry and sports fans, and we’re starting to see that,” Pitaro said.

Considering Pitaro’s bullish stance on using AI, it wasn’t shocking to see ESPN’s use of AI creeping into editorial content this month. The company began using AI technology to produce text game recap stories of select NWSL and PLL games. ESPN said the AI stories will “augment existing coverage, and the initiative will extend to some other sports in the future.” Each AI-created recap will be reviewed by a human editor for quality and accuracy purposes, and content created by AI will be indicated by the byline “ESPN Generative AI Services.”

While not on its Media Day agenda, ESPN is losing a key figure in its NBA coverage. NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, whose name is synonymous with breaking news coverage on social media platforms, announced he’s making a life change after seven years with ESPN. “I leave with overwhelming gratitude for countless mentors and colleagues, subjects and stories, readers and viewers,” Wojnarowski said in a statement. “After all these years reporting on everyone’s teams, I’m headed back to my own.” His own is his alma mater St. Bonaventure University, where “Woj” will become the General Manager of the Bonnies’ men’s basketball program. He’ll oversee name, image and likeness allocation, recruiting and supporting head coach Mark Schmidt.

THE FUTURE IS NOW

League executives have long been pondering the paths they should take, but baseball is on a more urgent journey. It’s been a few years since MLB changed its rules in an effort to increase the pace of play (see: pitch clocks, shift bans and extra-inning base runners), but central to the league’s biggest dilemma is distribution. It’s no secret that regional sports networks across the U.S. are struggling, and those hindrances have left MLB lagging behind in having a presence on digital platforms and thus growing its audiences. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred Manfred has made it clear that he sees the league taking a more national approach with game distribution in the coming years.

“I think that a key for us is self-sufficiency because of our investment in technology, we are in a position that, no matter what else happens, we can serve our fans,” Manfred said during a panel at the CNBC x Boardroom Game Plan Summit. “We had to step in, in Arizona, San Diego and Colorado, put games up with not very much notice. I think that self-sufficiency is really important. The second thing I would say, while the regional model was great for baseball financially, I actually think the crisis that we’re seeing right now presents baseball with a great opportunity. The regional model forced us local, local, local. I think as we move forward and as the landscape continues to change, we have an opportunity to make our sport more national, increase our reach, deal with the blackout issue that has plagued us for years.”

Manfred was joined by baseball greats Albert Pujols and CC Sabathia, who both echoed his sentiments to move away from the current RSN model and try to get more eyes watching baseball. Sabathia pointed to football and basketball as examples of how you can grow players’ profiles in smaller markets, an area MLB is also looking to improve

The sentiment of growing leagues on a national scale via digital products was echoed in a panel during which NFL EVP, Media Distribution Hans Schroeder pointed to a meeting he had with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs being the inspiration for what is now the NFL’s playbook when it approaches media deals.

“[Jobs] said, ‘You don’t know how much this is going to change the entirety of your business.’ So, you got to think about wiring your stadiums. You got to think about people watching on this. And that led us, in part, to retain the rights for live games on mobile phone, and that led to then try cast streaming with Amazon, and then it led to this last deal cycle of really an important point of view for us that we don’t believe we’re in one world or the other,” Schroeder said. “We’re both on linear and digital in a really meaningful way.”

One beneficiary of the NFL’s foray into digital is YouTube and YouTube TV. With the vMVPD now having the rights to Sunday Ticket—while also offering them to those without a YouTube TV subscription, a change from when DirecTV had the rights for 28 years—it’s allowed YouTube TV to reap the rewards of a growing customer base driven by an interest in football. That enlarged user group also comes with technological advancements such as multiview and in-game stats.

“One of the things we consistently saw was an avid viewership and avid fanbase for the NFL. And so when Sunday Ticket was available, it made sense to be part of those conversations,” Lori Conkling, YouTube Global Head of TV, Film and Sports Partnerships, said. “We’ve really opened up that that opportunity for fans to get the service. One of the things that we knew, or that we felt, which has played out, is we really have been able to super-serve the sports fan, and in particular the fan of the NFL. But we have seen what we call ‘the more casual fan’ come into the Sunday Ticket offering because of the choice that we provide.”

DIRECTV-DISNEY FINALLY CROSS FINISH LINE

It seems every football season begins with a new, major carriage dispute. This year’s public brawl came with DirecTV and Disney entering a blackout at the start of September, but the nearly two-week dispute came to a close that saw Disney’s full linear suite of networks being restored to the lineups of DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-verse users. DirecTV will continue carriage of Disney’s linear portfolio at market-based terms. DirecTV can also offer multiple genre-specific options that include Disney’s networks along with Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. Those same DTC products will be included in select DirecTV packages under a wholesale agreement, while also being made available on an a la carte basis. Additionally, DirecTV will have the rights to distribute ESPN’s upcoming flagship DTC product upon its launch at no added cost.

“DIRECTV and Disney have a long-standing history of connecting consumers to the best entertainment, and this agreement furthers that commitment by recognizing both the tremendous value of Disney’s content and the evolving preferences of DIRECTV’s customers. We’d like to thank all affected viewers for their patience,” the companies said in a joint statement.

DISNEY’S WNBA BOOM

The WNBA’s rapid growth is starting to show in advertising. A report from AdAge indicates Disney is seeking CPMs of $180 for the final round of the playoffs, according to sports advertising executives familiar with the Mouse House’s pitch. One exec claims that ad rate is higher than the average NFL game, which typically runs from $55 to $75 per 1,000 viewers. However, the needle seems to move with Caitlin Clark. She and the Indiana Fever made the playoffs for the first time since 2016, but aren’t expected to make a deep run into the postseason.

NFL TEAM VALUE LIST

There’s no sports juggernaut like the NFL, but how much are the 32 franchises worth? CNBC released its first-ever NFL team valuation chart, factoring in aspects such as team revenue and profit and debt. The league average came in at $6.49 billion thanks to media deals, increasing sponsorship revenue and non-NFL games at a team’s respective stadium. It’s not surprising that the Jerry Jones-owned Cowboys topped the list at $11 billion. The Rams, owned by Stan Kroenke, followed with $8 billion, while Robert Kraft’s Patriots were close behind at $7.9 billion. The Giants and Raiders rounded out the top five at $7.85 billion and $7.8 billion, respectively. On the other end of the list, the bottom five consisted of the Saints ($5.5 billion), Lions ($5.4 billion), Bills ($5.35 billion), Cardinals ($5.3 billion) and Bengals ($5.25 billion).

PARTNER UP

NBC Sports Next signed a video streaming partnership with one of the top youth sports facilities in the country. It agreed to a multi-year deal with Homefield Kansas City that makes SportsEngine Play, NBC Sports Next’s youth-focused streaming platform, as Homefield’s Official Video and Streaming Partner. SportsEngine Play will feature live and on-demand streaming of over 40,000 games played each year at Homefield’s competition venues, which include 12 volleyball courts and 10 basketball courts. The $65 million multi-use facility opened in March.

WSC Sports is looking to increase the use of its AI technology, and it’s partnering with Snap to grow Snap’s content creation capabilities for its Snap Stars program. It’s done through the Snap Publish API, which will allow sports teams to simplify distribution workflows and publish content on Snapchat automatically. WSC Sports’ Magicrop technology will streamline the production of end-to-end, vertical video.

WSC Sports is also marking an expanded partnership with the ACC. All 18 ACC member schools have access to WSC Sports’ technology, and for the 2024-25 year, new offerings will include access to the live feed of all specialty events like the ACC Kickoff and ACC-hosted “College GameDay” stops. That’ll allow schools to create and instantly distribute short-form content to all digital channels spanning web, app and social.

MAKIN’ MOVES

The New York Jets are taking flight with Jets Travel, a new experience designed for fans to build and book custom travel packages to home and away games. Jets Travel will include a custom flight, hotel and ticket package meant for each city the Jets play in. The Jets partnered with BookSeats for the initiative, which also offers fans discounted rates of up to 30% on Jets trips.

Barclays renewed its sponsorship of the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship through 2028. The new multi-year deal will see Barclays double its investment in women’s football from the previous contract term and remain the league’s title sponsor. Additionally, Barclays will remain the official banking partner of the Premiere League through 2029, and it’s extending its partnership with The FA for an additional three years. Barclays has been the title sponsor of the WSL since 2019.

Women’s golfer Charley Hull has captured the attention of fans across the globe, and she’s now set to become the face of Enevoria Development’s latest high-end project in the UAE. Hull will represent the project—Nobu Hotel & Residences Al Marjan Island—during competitions and also be part of marketing communications. Hull, who was the youngest-ever player to compete at the Solheim Cup, has other sponsorship deals including Taylor Made, Acushnet and Malbon Golf.

The Los Angeles Kings are joining forces with the technology solutions provider Iron Bow Technologies. It’s Iron Bow’s first official sports partnership in LA. The multi-year deal will see Iron Bow become the team’s official away jersey patch partner starting this upcoming season. Additionally, Iron Bow will serve as the preferred IT solutions provider of AEG, a global sports and live entertainment company that’s headquartered in LA.

The Tampa Bay Lightning made the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA and AdventHealth as its first-ever jersey patch sponsors. The Tampa YMCA will have its patch on the Lightning’s home and third jerseys, while AdventHealth will be on the road jerseys. All jerseys sold through Fanatics will feature the patches at no additional cost.

MESSI’S LATEST GOAL

Global soccer star Lionel Messi has been growing his popularity within the U.S. since moving to MLS, and now he’s making another move. The Inter Miami and Argentina star launched a production company called 525 Rosario. Made as a joint venture with Smuggler Entertainment, 525 Rosario will focus mainly on family programming and premium TV content. Smuggler is credited with producing the Apple TV+ docuseries “Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend” and “Messi Meets America.” 525 Rosario’s offices will be based in Miami and Los Angeles.

GETTING TECHNICAL

“It just means more” is the SEC’s tagline, and the conference is taking that to its review system. The SEC announced it’ll use a multi-sport video review system from Hawk-Eye Innovations starting with the 2024 SEC soccer and volleyball seasons. Hawk-Eye, which is owned by Sony’s Sports business, will have its synchronized multi-angle replay technology used for video capture, replay, clipping and distribution purposes. For soccer, Hawk-Eye’s SMART system uses six dedicated high-speed cameras to complement the existing set of broadcast cameras. Additional cameras are located on each goal line, on each penalty box and one wide camera on each side of the pitch. For volleyball, 12 dedicated high-speed cameras have been added to existing broadcast cameras—including six “pylon cameras”—on the playing service to capture in/out reviews.

CBS Sports hopes to capitalize on the Big 12 basketball boom. The network and conference are growing their partnership to air 20 games per year on CBS Sports Network through 2026-27. The Big 12 already has a minimum of six games air on CBS per year, with each of those games also streaming on Paramount+. This year, CBS Sports will air approximately 300 regular-season contests across CBS, Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network.

The American Hockey League signed a multi-year extension with FloSports. The league’s streaming service AHLTV will now become AHLTV on FloHockey starting this 2024-25 season. It’ll also move to a FloHockey.tv domain with a myriad of viewership enhancements like the introduction of new encoders that’ll double the rate of high-quality streams to 60 FPS. FloHockey will still hold every regular-season game, but now add Calder Cup Playoff games for all 32 teams. FloSports will also continue to provide teams with primary digital tools including website and mobile app hosting and real-time scoring and statistics.

SOLHEIM CUP DATE SET

The U.S. prevailed in this year’s Solheim Cup 15.5-12.5, but it’s never too early to prepare for what’s next. The 2026 Solheim Cup will take place at Bernardus Golf in Cromvoirt, Netherlands, from Sept. 7-13, 2026. It’ll be the event’s 20th running and will be run in partnership with IMG, who were appointed by the Ladies European Tour as the delivery partner of the European Solheim Cup for an initial commitment from 2026-38.

A MONUMENTAL APP

Monumental Sports Network is the latest RSN to unveil its app. Monumental+ was released to fans of D.C. sports teams, offering streaming access to live and on-demand programming involving the Capitals, Wizards, Mystics and Go-Go in addition to other area teams like the NWSL’s Spirit, MLC’s Freedom and NPSL’s Annapolis Blues. Monumental+ also comes with multiview that enables up to four streams to be played at once. Annual memberships run at $199.99 per year while monthly memberships come in at $19.99 per year.

BY THE NUMBERS

Streaming continues to change the TV landscape, and Inscape data shows nearly 60% of smart TVs are used for exclusively streaming as of 2Q24. Only 4% rely on their smart TV for solely cable or over-the-air content, according to Inscape’s TV Market Trends Report. However, 36% use their devices for a combination of streaming and cable/satellite/OTA. Streaming-first publishers captured 87% of total streaming time in Q2 2024, while direct-to-consumer apps from traditional broadcasters trailed with 13%. The competition is heating up as live sports and news—traditionally cable strongholds—are seeing notable gains in streaming. Over 30% of sports viewing and 20% of news viewing in Q2 occurred on streaming services, signaling a shift in how viewers consume even real-time content. The average number of streaming apps used per smart TV has remained flat at around 5.5, indicating that consumers may have reached their limit on the number of platforms they’re willing to juggle.

Week 2’s Monday Night showdown between the Eagles and Falcons was the third most-viewed non-ABC MNF telecast since 2019. The audience average came in at 15.04 million viewers across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and NFL+. Without ESPN Deportes, that number falls to around 15 million even.

The Week 3 edition of “College GameDay” averaged 1.98 million viewers and 2.6 million in the final hour. That helped solidify ESPN’s best three-episode start since 2010 and is the second-best start ever. The Week 3 SEC on ABC triple header also scored three of the top four games of the week. Georgia’s win over Kentucky had 6.7 million viewers (peaking at 9 million), while LSU’s dramatic victory against South Carolina had 5.3 million (peaked at 8.7 million) and Texas A&M’s handling of Florida had 5.1 million (peaked at 5.8 million).

Scripps Sports and ION keep paying out its bets on women’s sports, specifically with the WNBA. This year’s WNBA Friday Night Spotlight on ION saw its average come in at 670,000 viewers P2+, an increase of 133% compared to the 2023 average. The network garnered 23.37 million unique viewers across games and recap shows. Notably, the M25-54 segment grew by 181%. Seven telecasts exceeded the one-million average mark. Scripps also added over 20 new advertisers this year upon the success of its WNBA broadcasts.

PICKLEBALL IS ALL THE RAGE

PickleRage, an indoor pickleball club franchise, is opening a facility in Mobile, Alabama. It’ll open in early 2025 and be located in the heart of Mobile’s commercial area. It will be a 42,545-square-foot facility with 12+ indoor CushionX courts.

One of the all-time greatest football coaches is joining The 33rd Team. Six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick is onboard as a strategic advisor, joining the likes of former NFL head coaches Matt Patricia and Adam Gase. Belichick and co. will advise the company in multiple areas, such as player and team evaluation, coaching insights, in-game adjustments and overall football analysis.

ON THIS DAY

1920: Babe Ruth became the first player to hit 50 home runs in an MLB season after a first-inning solo shot against the Washington Senators. Fourteen years later on the same day, Ruth had his farewell Yankee appearance at Yankee Stadium.

1988: At the Seoul Olympics, Canada’s Ben Johnson broke his own 100m world record with a time of 9.79. However, he was disqualified three days later after testing positive for stanozolol, and Carl Lewis was awarded gold and the world record with a time of 9.92.